Failures, inquiries and forensic engineering

摘要

Ronan Point flats collapsed in May 1968. The inquiry report states that the immediate cause of the disaster was a town gas explosion. The main recommendations relate to the structure's joints and the need for continuity to avoid progressive collapse. My master's degree was sponsored by Ronan Point's designers and, in my dissertation submitted in December 1967,1 had clearly stated that new joints could be designed using reinforcement.